Credit and debit cards are widely used in purchasing goods and services in society today. Their use is pervasive as people can use them at a variety of locations, practically obviating the need to carry cash. Unfortunately, sometimes a card owner will inadvertently leave a credit card or other important card in a store or similar place. If an owner has several cards and carries them often, the loss may remain unnoticed for a considerable time. The longer the time such a mistake remains unnoticed, the harder it is to recall exactly where the card may have been left. The headache and waste of time suffered by the owner in replacing these cards can be a severe nuisance. Moreover, unauthorized persons may then have access to the card and run up charges or run down accounts on the card.
Likewise, a lost identification card can be difficult and expensive to replace when it is lost. Many identification cards are approximately the size and shape of a credit or debit card, and may be protected by means otherwise designed for the protection of credit or debit cards.
Card holders which incorporate alarms are well known in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,418,520 to Hirshberg discloses a card holder with a power source and a chip programmable to a speak a human voice so that it is less obtrusive than a mechanical alarm. U.S. Pat. No. 4,916,439 to McNeely teaches the use of an electronic system with metallic switch arms and spring clips which are rigid in nature. U.S. Pat. No. 4,692,745 to Simonowitz demonstrates a dual trigger alarm system requiring the opening or closing of a briefcase or outer wallet to trigger the alarm on the card holder. U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,094 to Kopel discloses a bulky accordion-style folding credit card holder that uses dielectric sheets as contacts for the alarm system. U.S. Pat. No. 5,892,444 to Wittmer et al. teaches an alarm system for multiple cards using bulky flexible conductive ribbon to conduct electricity to the alarm. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,095 to Cook illustrates a complicated alarm system with components remote from the card holder in triggering the alarm. U.S. Pat. No. 6,184,788 to Middlemiss et al. Discloses an electronic system for a hard shell credit card holder with a visible as well as audible alarm that sounds when a card has been taken out. U.S. Pat. No. 5,034,724 to Tone teaches a multi-part alarm system in which the cards are located in a hard plastic holder. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 4,719,453 to Beck et al. discloses a multiple card carrier using metal parts at both the electrical contacts and the flanges. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 5,373,283 to Maharshak teaches another accordion-style credit card case which incorporates conductor strips in the contacts for triggering the alarm.
These devices all have either bulky mechanisms or require an unnecessary amount of metal in them. Furthermore, these devices have the disadvantage that if the device slips from a person's wallet, then the card as well as the alarm are lost, and the alarm function in the holder is rendered moot.
Thus, a reliable, non-bulky, easy to manufacture credit card holder having an alarm is needed which has a minimum of metallic parts. Not only is such a device more comfortable to wear for the user, but in light of current events, airport security is tight, and carrying unnecessary metal can delay a person's travel.
There is also a need for a credit card holder with an alarm that has a minimum of rigid parts so that unsightly lines are not pressed into a card carrier's clothes when used.
There is also a need for a credit card alarm with conductive gel for contacts to minimize the amount of metal that a person carries and ptrovide a credit card holder that will not slip from a person's wallet.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a credit card holder that has non-rigid contacts held apart by the credit card.
What is also needed in the art is a card holder with conductive gel contacts so that the credit card holder will not slip from a person's wallet.
What is also needed in the art is a card holder with conductive silicone gel contacts to minimize the amount of metal within the card holder having an alarm.
It is, therefore, to the effective resolution of the aforementioned problems and shortcomings of the prior art that the present invention is directed.
However, in view of the prior art in at the time the present invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill in the pertinent art how the identified needs could be fulfilled.